“Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Proverbs 12:25
Some people teach that Christians are exempt from the worries of this world, but it just isn't true. We live in a fallen world that is full of trouble (John 16:33). Disease, heartache, financial loss, and all manner of sin touch our lives daily and produce the same anxieties that unbelievers experience.
These anxieties trouble each of us in different ways and to different degrees. Some of us encounter anxiety so intense that it manifests in physical symptoms such as pain, hives, profuse sweating, or the inability to eat, sleep, or even breathe well. But we all share the common root of our anxieties which is fear. We fear pain, loss, the unknown, etc. and these fears produce anxiety in our hearts, minds, and bodies.
But even though we face the same anxieties as unbelievers, there is a real distinctive for us who believe in Jesus - the gospel! The death and resurrection of Jesus to secure our eternal well-being are the "good word" that makes our hearts glad and relieves our anxieties if we learn to focus there. Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Proverbs 12:25 Paul wrote to the young evangelist Timothy, who was prone to anxiety, “...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” 2 Timothy 1:7-10
Notice how the Scriptures connect the death and resurrection of Jesus to our freedom from fear and anxiety. Death, our worst and final enemy, has been abolished by Jesus on the cross so we can trust that He has also dealt with all the other things that cause anxiety in us.
Through His death on the cross, Jesus gave us His Spirit, and Jesus' Spirit produces in us supernatural strength, love, and self-control. We don’t work harder to overcome our anxiety; we focus on and rest in the finished work of our Jesus.
Friend, though they do not feel that way, your anxieties are common, and they are not your problem. Your problem comes when you hang on to your concerns and focus on them. To be free of your anxieties, you must see Jesus high and lifted up, dying on the cross to bring you peace, shedding His blood to atone for your sin and set you free. See Him rising from the dead victorious, having conquered all things in life that cause anxiety. When you fix your thoughts on Jesus; He will overwhelm your anxieties with His love.
If you want to combat your anxieties and win, you must look to Jesus on the cross, and believe that God is for you. Look now and see the perfect love of Jesus displayed on the cross and allow His sacrificial love to cast out all your fear (1 John 4:13-19). If you are in Christ, friend, the victory is yours. Sin and death are defeated. Your situation, no matter how distressing, is temporary, but God's love for you is eternal.